The Sins of the Father

Chapter Two

Stephen dropped down into the small ditch, landing next to Alexis and making her yelp with fright.

"Don't you make any noise when you move??" She hissed.

"No." He grinned, setting down the basket. "That's kind of the point. How's the arm?" Alexis rolled her shoulder experimentally.

"Better," she reported. "Though it makes climbing trees a #####." Stephen winced.

"Language, or I'll stop bringing you lunch."

Alexis rolled her eyes, reaching into the basket to rummage around. "What'd you bring me?" She pulled out half a loaf of bread and immediately started gnawing on it.

"Leftovers." Stephen replied cheerfully, pulling the cloth off of the basket to reveal the rest of his offerings. "Only the best for my ungrateful forest friend." Alexis gave him a long-suffering look, then mumbled around her bite,

"Thank you, Stephen."

"You're welcome."

It had been four days since Stephen had first encountered Alexis in the woods, and, to his surprise, she'd stuck around. He would admit to being as worried as she was that one of the valkyries would encounter her, but so far she seemed to be safe. In return for her company, Stephen brought her food after each meal, and was keeping an eye on her wounded arm to make sure its condition didn't worsen. So far, none of the valkyries had noticed anything amiss, as he made sure he had a good excuse each time he vanished into the woods. That, and teleporting around camp and leaving a false trail before going to where his friend was taking shelter.

He felt guilty about being dishonest with them, especially Lucius. The man had practically raised him, and had filled in the void of the paternal figure Stephen lacked, but... Steve worried he would overreact. Besides, Alexis would be furious if he told anyone, and he quite frankly was afraid to face her wrath.

Steve sat by quietly, working on some arrows he'd brought with him to fletch while Alexis devoured her food. Already, he noticed, her skin had a healthier glow to it than when they first had met, and he was hoping that the longer he was able to care for her the more she would start to gain some weight.

"Hey, Stephen." Her voice caught his attention. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." Very few personal questions had been asked between them thus far. "-ish. I'm not entirely sure when my birthday is."

"Hey, same here." Alexis grinned, wiping her mouth off on her sleeve. "I'm in the same range, though. Fifteen or sixteen, maybe seventeen."

"I see." Steve nodded. "And you... raised yourself?" Alex's smile died, and he felt a stab of guilt. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, I did." She interrupted him. "Got a little help from strangers sometimes, when I was a kid, but people get less charitable the older you get. So, it was just me." Steve frowned a bit.

"Ever thought of... getting a job? Or an apprenticeship?"

"Not when I look like skin and bones. No one wants to hire a dirty urchin." Alexis paused, glancing up at him. "So yes, I stole to survive."

"Right." Stephen folded his arms, but didn't argue with her. Trying to have a discussion with her about morality had, so far, proved rather fruitless.

"And you... what? Said these guys took you in?" Alexis nodded towards the camp. "What for?"

"They found me as an infant outside of a human settlement." Stephen resumed his task. "Lucius took me in. As I got older, they found that I had potential to be a soldier and started to train me."